• Visit.Shetland.org>
• See & Do>
• Culture

Culture

Cultural Life

Shetland's world-famous music is the heart and soul of the place. Some of the old fiddle tunes are Norwegian - for 600 years the islands were a province of Norway, until mortgaged to Scotland in 1469 as part of a royal wedding dowry (commemorated in Lerwick Town Hall's stained glass windows).

The pledge was never redeemed but islanders continued to speak a form of Old Norse until about 1700. Modern Shetland dialect still uses hundreds of Norwegian words.

zoomUp Helly Aa

Viking boat designs, fire festivals and fiddle music remind us that, over a thousand years ago, Shetland was the first stepping stone on the Vikings' invasion of northern Scotland, Ireland, Iceland and Greenland.

Ancient links with Norway were strengthened during the Second World War, when Shetland was the secret base for resistance fighters raiding their Nazi-occupied homeland. The 'Shetland Bus' museum in the village of Scalloway records this saga of courage and endurance.

Surrounded by fishing grounds and oil & gas fields, Shetlanders have now enjoyed almost Scandinavian prosperity for the past quarter of a century - but also managed to keep their environment largely unspoiled.

Islanders but not insular, Shetlanders are a cosmopolitan lot. Seafaring is a long tradition and, because of the fish trade, Shetland was in regular contact with the outside world from earliest times.

We're still great travellers.

For hundreds of years new islanders have been arriving here - many Shetland families can trace Scots, English, Dutch, German, roots - while others were emigrating. There are probably more people of Shetland descent in Australia, New Zealand and Canada than in Shetland itself. So genealogy is a favourite pastime and many of our visitors come tracing kith and kin.

Shetlanders tend to feel a strong attachment to 'The Auld Rock', a place of intricate heritage as well as great natural beauty. We don't do 'industrial tourism' - to us you're an individual, a welcome guest. We look forward to sharing our lovely islands with you.

Cultural Events

There are several events which have well and truly become part of Shetland culture:

Up Helly Aa

On the last Tuesday every January Lerwick is host to the UK's largest fire-festival, "Up Helly Aa". Around 900 colourfully dressed "guizers" follow the Jarl's squad of Vikings and their long-ship through the darkened streets of Lerwick, all carrying burning torches. The ceremony ends spectacularly as the hundreds of flaming torches are thrown into the ship.

Musical Events

Three major festivals celebrating Shetland's musical culture stand out for special mention.

zoomFiddle Frenzy

The annual Shetland Folk Festival, held in spring, sees the islands taken over by some of the best folk music the world has to offer. The event is so prestigious that the Rough Guide to Scotland 20006 placed the festival in the top 10 Visitor Attractions in Scotland.

Held over a hectic four-day period in mid-October, the Accordion & Fiddle Festival sees musicians from all over the world perform using Shetland's two most popular instruments - the accordion and the fiddle.

A must for all fans of traditional music is the Shetland Fiddle Frenzy - a fiddle school with a difference in that it's more of a fiddle and cultural festival than singularly a fiddle school.

Sailing Races

Shetland continues to have a close affinity with the sea and is on the map for two ocean racing events - the annual Shetland Races, and the Round Britain and Ireland Race which is held every four years.

Food and Drink

Shetland's produce has built a reputation for being fresh, natural and a quality product.  The importance of using high quality, fresh products is understood, and of local origin where possible.

Shetland's larder is larger than it used to be.

We still produce superb seafood, however a far wider range is now available, with around 35 species being landed.